Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

pleurodynia
See 
Bornholm disease.
plumbism
See 
lead poisoning.
Plummer disease
See 
goiter, toxic multinodular.
Plummer
-
Vinson syndrome
The combination
of iron deficiency anemia, esophageal webs, and
dysphagia (difficulty swallowing). The iron defi-
ciency is typically chronic and severe. It triggers the
growth of web-like membranes in the throat which
cause dysphagia. The syndrome is more common in
women. Treatment is iron supplementation and, if
needed, dilation of the web to permit normal swal-
lowing and the passage of food. Also known as
Paterson-Kelly syndrome; sideropenic dysphagia.
PMDD
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
PMR
Polymyalgia rheumatica.
PMS
Premenstrual syndrome.
pneumatic larynx
A device that uses air to pro-
duce sound, helping a person whose larynx has
been removed to talk.
pneumo
- Prefix pertaining to breathing, respira-
tion, the lungs, pneumonia, or air, as in pneu-
monectomy (an operation to remove an entire lung
or part of a lung) and pneumonia (inflammation of
one or both lungs).
pneumococcal immunization
A vaccine that pre-
vents one of the most common and severe forms of
pneumonia, the form that is caused by Streptococcus
pneumoniae (pneumococcus bacterium).
pleiotropic
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pneumococcus
See 
Streptococcus pneumoniae.
pneumoconiosis
Inflammation and irritation
caused by deposition of dust or other particulate
matter in the lungs. Pneumoconiosis usually occurs
in workers in certain occupations and in people
who live in areas that have a great deal of particu-
late matter in the air. Types of pneumoconiosis
range from nearly harmless forms to destructive or
fatal conditions, such as asbestosis and silicosis.